Chapter 3

“What is that?” I finally had the mind to ask. I cringed at how gross and scratchy my voice sounded. He looked up at me briefly as his hands continued working on setting up an IV station. He put the needle in my wrist and hung a bag of some blue-looking liquid.

“It’s a chemical concoction that will stop the change for the time being. I don’t want you to fight the change so I’m going to put it off until you’re properly informed,” he explained. Once the medicine started coursing through my veins, I didn’t feel the pain anymore. It was kind of like a morphine drip, except it didn’t make me loopy. The strange man sat in a chair in the corner of the bedroom. I sat up a little and flinched at more heavy my limps felt. It was taking a lot of effort to do the simplest task. The stranger zoomed over to me lightening fast and helped me.

“Please don’t move. Your body needs to rest and you need to stay still,” he said. He carefully, but easily, lifted me and set me up against the now stacked pillows. He did it so fast that I couldn’t have seen it. I thanked him as he handed me a glass of water. I gulped it gratefully. After I set it down, I regained enough control over my vocal chords to talk properly. I tilted my head at him.

“What’s your name?” I asked. He blushed slightly as he smiled at me.

“How rude of me! Here I am taking you away without even introducing myself. My name is Ian. It’s short for… well it doesn’t really matter and it’s hard to pronounce,” he chuckled slightly. I offered him a small smile before I remembered why I was in the situation I was in.

“What was happening to me in the classroom?” I asked timidly. Ian smiled encouragingly at me.

“Please, you can ask me anything. No need to hesitate. I’m here to help, not harm you,” he assured me. I only nodded, urging him to continue. “You started the change,” he answered simply. I was expecting more of an explanation than that.

“Changing? I don’t understand… What do you mean?” I asked. He only sighed and looked off like he was trying to word it correctly. The longer he sat silent, the more worried I got.

“I assume you are aware that you are adopted?” he asked, picking his words carefully. I nodded and waited. It was true. I knew I was adopted. I looked nothing like them and they explained it to me at a very tender age. I was ten, and confused as to why I didn’t have blonde hair and brown eyes like they did.

“They told me, yes,” I answered.

“You’re birth parents loved you. They aren’t… they passed away, but they sent you to America for your protection. You’re parents were… special. They possessed the same abilities that I have… and the ones that you will soon have. Only a handful of people on the whole Earth are born with these abilities. The pattern is the same for all like us. The person grows at the pace and speed of a normal human, but when they officially turn 16, they go through the change. That’s the feeling you were experiencing earlier. I’m not going to lie; it’s painful because of the fact that you’re body and brain go through the process of opening it’s full capacity. Instead of only being able to use 8% of your brain, you can use a hundred. You’re outward appearance doesn’t change at all. You’re body starts aging so slow that you would only look 17 at the age of 25. You’ll be stronger, faster, smarter, and not just by a little; by a lot. You will have to learn to not use your full capacity around civilians. You’re full capacity will be first nature to you, so you’ll have to learn how to control yourself from dashing a mile in a second or ripping a car door off. Of course, my concoction will prevent the change until you're ready,” he explained. 

“Until I am ready?” I picked out. “How do you know when I’m ready?” I asked before a yawn escaped my mouth. He smiled softly.

“Now, you need to rest, but to answer your question: you will be ready when you fully realize your capability and what you are. I will inform you tomorrow. Don’t worry, we still have a lot to discuss,” he answered easily. He stood and walked towards the door as I yawned again. “Get some sleep, we’ll talk more when you wake up,” he said. I nodded and complied as I sunk in the bed and let my eyes close.

No need to tell me twice.